The present invention relates to a rear baggage-compartment structure of a vehicle which comprises a baggage compartment provided at a vehicle-body rear portion, an opening portion formed at a vehicle-body rear face, a lift gate pivotally supported at an upper edge of the opening portion so as to close or open the opening portion, and a tonneau cover member provided so as to cover the baggage compartment from above.
In a conventional rear baggage-compartment structure of a vehicle, a tonneau cover member is provided to open or close in accordance with an opening/closing operation of a lift gate, and baggage can be loaded into or unloaded from a baggage compartment by moving the tonneau cover member upward when the lift gate is open.
Herein, it may be necessary that the width of the tonneau cover member is set to be substantially equal to the length, in a vehicle width direction, of a lower portion of the opening portion formed at the vehicle-body rear face in order to have the tonneau cover member surely cover over the baggage in the baggage compartment when the lift gate is closed. However, in a case of an automotive vehicle having an opening portion which is of a trapezoid shape with its upper edge portion shorter than its lower edge portion, for example, there is a concern that both end portions of the tonneau cover member may improperly interfere with rear pillars of the vehicle when the lift gate is fully open.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open publication No. 2000-108787 discloses a structure in which the board member is provided behind the rearmost-row seat and the winding device to wind up the tonneau cover member is provided at the rear portion of the board member. According to this structure, since the winding device can be located rearward by a longitudinal length of the board member, it can be properly restrained that the both end portions of the tonneau cover member interfere with the rear pillars when the lift gate is fully open.
However, since the structure disclosed in the above-described patent document comprises the board member, there are problems in that the structure may be improperly complex and costs increase may be caused, and also appearances and baggage loading may deteriorate.